Method of handling a forming die between die forming operations

ABSTRACT

A forming die including of a holder having an upper portion and a lower portion, each portion having a main substrate extending in a first longitudinal direction. A fixing substrate is located on one end of the main substrate and a movable substrate is located on an opposite end of the main substrate and is movable along the main substrate in the first longitudinal direction. A plurality of die forming segments are situated between the movable substrate and the fixing substrate. Tie rods extend along the main substrate outside the periphery of the plurality of die forming segments, and connect the movable substrate and the fixing substrate to one another.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/184,756, filed Nov.2, 1998, now allowed, the entirety of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a forming die having an upper diemember and a lower die member, which are constructed respectively by aplurality of segments and a managing method thereof.

2. Description of Related Art

A forming die for forming an insulation overcoat member of a polymerinsulator is constructed using, a forming die having an upper die memberand a lower die member each constructed respectively by a plurality ofsegments. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing one embodiment of a knownforming die. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a forming die 51comprised of an upper die member 52 and a lower die member 53 asillustrated, wherein the upper die member 52 and the lower die member 53are constructed respectively by securing a plurality of segments 54 bymean of a tie-rod 55. Numeral 56 designates a cavity for forming aforming material such as silicone rubber into a predetermined shape.

Generally, installation or breaking down of the forming die 51 to apress apparatus is performed as follows. At first, ten pieces of thesegments 54 are defined as one module of 0.6 m unit. The modules aretransferred to the press apparatus in such a manner that a plurality ofmodules are arranged to form the lower die member 53 on the pressapparatus. Then, in the same manner, a plurality of modules are arrangedon the lower die member 53 one by one to form the upper die member 52.When all the segments 54 are arranged, the upper die member 52 and thelower die member 53 are respectively secured in an integral manner bymeans of the tie-rod 55. Subsequently, in order to install the formingdie 51 to the press apparatus, the upper die member 52 is fixed to anupper platen of the press apparatus such that the upper and a lower ramheads are closed. Then, the lower die member 53 is fixed to a lowerplaten of the press apparatus.

Using the method described above, it is possible to assemble the formingdie 51 having the upper die member 52 and the lower die member 53 eachconstructed by a plurality of segments 54 and to install the forming die51 to the press apparatus. However, when forming a product having alength of 3 m or more the assembling operation of the forming die 51 andthe installing operation of the forming die 51 to the press apparatustakes a long time. Moreover, it is necessary to perform the assembly andinstallation when the press apparatus is stopped. Therefore, anequipment operation performance is lowered. In addition, in theassembled upper die member 52 and the assembled lower die member 53, adeviation between segments 54 is prevented only by the securing power ofthe tie-rod 55. Therefore, an up and down deviation and a right and leftdeviation between segments 54 sometimes does occur. If a product isformed by using such a forming die 51, a projection portion and adepression portion are generated on the formed product. In this case, itis necessary to repair such a projection or depression portion, or notto use the formed product as a complete product. Further, in order toeliminate the drawbacks mentioned above, it is sometimes necessary tore-assemble the forming die 51, thereby decreasing equipment operationperformance again.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate thedrawbacks mentioned above and to provide a forming die which can beexchanged easily and smoothly and does not lower equipment operationperformance, and a managing method thereof.

According to the present invention, a forming die having an upper diemember and a lower die member, which are constructed respectively by aplurality of segments, comprises die-setting holders in which apredetermined number of segments are integrally arranged to form saidupper die member and said lower die member.

Moreover, according to the present invention, a method of managing aforming die having an upper die member and a lower die member, which areconstructed respectively a plurality of segments, comprises a step ofperforming an install or an uninstall of the forming die to a pressapparatus by installing or uninstalling the upper die member and thelower die member, in which a predetermined number of segments arerespectively integrated by using a die-setting holder, as a unit.

In the present invention, a predetermined number of segments areintegrated by using the die-setting holder to form the upper die memberand the lower die member. Therefore, it is possible to assemble theforming die or to install or uninstall the forming die to the pressapparatus, as a unit of the upper die member or the lower die memberwhich is integrated by the die-setting holder. In this case, a formingdie exchanging operation can be performed easily and smoothly. Inaddition, it is possible to prepare a plurality of sets of the upper diemember and the lower die member, which are respectively integrated bythe die-setting holder having a necessary size within that of the pressapparatus, beforehand. With the present invention, if the forming dieexchanging operation is requested, it is necessary to exchange only theupper die member and the lower die member which are integrated by thedie-setting holder having a necessary size, and thus equipment operationperformance is not lowered. Moreover, it is possible to easily assemblethe upper die member and the lower die member only by arranging apredetermined number of segments on the die-setting holder. Therefore,it is possible to shorten the time required for assembling the upper diemember and the lower die member. Further, since the die-setting holdercan hold the segments to form the upper die member or the lower diemember, it is possible to eliminate deviation between segments. Inaddition, in the event that the die-setting holder having a highstiffness has a die member positioning means serving as a positioningbetween the upper die member and the lower die member, it is possible toeliminate the repairing operation due to a deviation between the upperdie member and the lower die member, and thus to eliminate a generationof defective products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a and 1 b are schematic views respectively showing one embodimentof a die-setting holder used for a forming die according to theinvention;

FIGS. 2a and 2 b are schematic views respectively illustrating oneembodiment of a segment used for the forming die according to theinvention;

FIGS. 3a and 3 b are schematic views respectively depicting oneembodiment of a lower die member used for the forming die according tothe invention;

FIGS. 4a, 4 b and 4 c are schematic views respectively explaining amanaging method of the forming die according to the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing one embodiment of a known formingdie.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1a and 1 b are a front view and a side view respectively showingone embodiment of a die-setting holder used for a forming die accordingto the invention. Moreover, FIGS. 1a and 1 b show a die-setting holderfor a lower die member. In this embodiment, a die-setting holder 1 shownin FIGS. 1a and 1 b comprises a main substrate 2 of the die-settingholder 1, a fixing substrate 3, a movable substrate 4, a tie-rod 5, apositioning fixing plate 6, a positioning movable plate 7, a pressmember 8 and a projection portion 9. The fixing substrate 3 is arrangedupright on one end of the main substrate 2. The movable substrate 4 isarranged upright on the other end of the main substrate 2 which isopposed to the fixing substrate 3. The tie-rod 5 fixes the fixingsubstrate 3 and the movable substrate 4 at two points. The positioningfixing plate 6 is used for positioning a plurality of segments, arrangedin a long side direction in which the tie-rod 5 is extended on the mainsubstrate 2, along a short side direction of the main substrate 2. Thepositioning movable plate 7 is used for positioning and fixing thesegments along a short side direction of the main substrate 2 togetherwith the positioning fixing plate 6. The press member 8 is used forpressing the positioning movable plate 7 toward the positioning fixingplate 6. The projection portion 9 is used for positioning an upper diemember and a lower die member in which a predetermined number ofsegments are arranged between the fixing substrate 3 and the movablesubstrate 4 of the die-setting holder 1.

FIGS. 2a and 2 b are a front view and a side view respectively showingone embodiment of a segment used for the forming die according to theinvention. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2a and 2 b, a segment 11comprises an upper segment 11-1 and a lower segment 11-2 and has acavity 12 arranged corresponding to a product to be formed. In FIG. 2,four through holes 13 are formed in the upper segment 11-1 and the lowersegment 11-2. These through holes 13 are used for fixing a plurality ofsegments 11 and are not used for passing the tie-rod 5 therethrough inthe die-setting holder 1. However, if positions of the positioningfixing plate 6 and the positioning movable plate 7 are varied, it ispossible to design that the tie-rod 5 may be passed through the throughhole 13 of the segment 11.

FIGS. 3a and 3 b are a front view and a cross sectional view cut alongb—b line showing one embodiment of a lower die member used for theforming die according to the invention. In the embodiment shown in FIGS.3a and 3 b, only a lower die member 21 is shown, but an upper die memberhas the substantially same construction as that of the lower die member21 except that no projection portion 9 is arranged. The lower die member21 shown in FIG. 3 is constructed by integrating a plurality of segments11 shown in FIGS. 2a and 2 b in the die-setting holder 1 shown in FIGS.1a and 1 b.

Then, a segment integrating operation will be explained. At first, inthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 1a and 1 b, one of the two tie-rods 5 isset between the fixing substrate 3 and the movable substrate 4, and apredetermined number of segments 11 are set on the die-setting holder 1.

In this case, a positioning of the segment 11 along a long sidedirection of the die-setting holder 1 is performed in such a manner thatthe segment 11 is set is from a side of the fixing substrate 3 and iscompletely contacted to the fixing substrate 3. At the same time orthen, a positioning of the segments 11 along a short side direction ofthe segments 11 along a short side direction of the die-setting holder 1is performed in such a manner that the segment 11 is set by pressing itcompletely to the positioning fixing plate 6. After all the segments 11are set on the die-setting holder 1, the positioning movable plate 7 ismoved toward the positioning fixing plate 6 by rotating a bolt 8 a ofthe press member 8 so as to fix the segments 11 along a short sidedirection of the die-setting holder 1. Then, the remaining tie-rod 5 isset between fixing substrate 3 and the movable substrate 4. After that,the tie-rods 5 are tightened by means of nuts 5 a so as to move themovable substrate 4 toward the fixing substrate 3. When there is no gapbetween the movable substrate 4 and the fixing substrate 3, the tie-rods5 are further tightened so as to fix the segments 11 along a long sidedirection of the die-setting holder 1. In this manner, the lower diemember 21 shown in FIGS. 3a and 3 b are obtained.

In the forming die according to the invention, as shown in FIGS. 3a and3 b, a plurality of segments 11 are integrated by means of thedie-setting holder 1 to form the lower die member 21 (upper die membernot shown). This is a feature of the invention. In the embodimentmentioned above, the projection portion 9 constructs a die memberpositioning means serving as a positioning between the upper die memberand the lower die member. Moreover, a pair of the fixing substrate 3 andthe movable substrate 4, and a combination of the positioning fixingplate 6, the positioning movable plate 7 and the press member 8construct a segment positioning means serving as a positioning betweensegments when they are integrally arranged.

FIGS. 4a, 4 b and 4 c are schematic views respectively illustrating oneembodiment of a managing method of the forming die according to theinvention. FIGS. 4a, 4 b and 4 c show a managing method in the case ofinstalling the forming die to the press apparatus, and this managingmethod will be explained according to FIGS. 4a, 4 b and 4 c. At first,as shown in FIG. 4a, the thus prepared lower die member 21 and upper diemember 22 are connected to form a forming die 31. Then, as shown in FIG.4b, the thus formed forming die 31 is transferred by means of a dietransferring flatcar 41. After that, as shown in FIG. 4c, the dietransferring flatcar 41 is positioned by a press apparatus 42. At thisstage, the forming die 31 is installed to the press apparatus 42. In themanaging method of the forming die according to the invention, since themanaging is performed by the integrated upper die member and theintegrated lower die member as a unit, it is possible to prepare theforming die 31 beforehand at need. Therefore, it is not necessary toassemble the forming die under such a condition that the press apparatusis stopped as the known managing method, and thus it is possible toexchange the forming die, i.e., install or uninstall the forming die toor from the press apparatus easily and smoothly.

As clearly understood from the above explanations, according to theinvention, since a predetermined number of segments are integrated byusing the die-setting holder to form the upper die member and the lowerdie member, it is possible to assemble the forming die or to install oruninstall the forming die to the press apparatus, as a unit of the upperdie member or the lower die member which is integrated by thedie-setting holder. In this case, a forming die exchanging operation canbe performed easily and smoothly, and thus an equipment operationperformance is not lowered. Moreover, it is possible to easily assemblethe upper die member and the lower die member only by arranging apredetermined number of segments on the die-setting holder. In addition,in the case that the die-setting holder having a high stiffness has adie member positioning means serving as a positioning between the upperdie member and the lower die member, it is possible to eliminate arepairing operation due to a deviation between the upper die member andthe lower die member, and to eliminate a generation of defectiveproducts.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of handling a forming die between dieforming operations, said forming die comprising an upper die member anda lower die member each having a main substrate extending in a firstlongitudinal direction, a fixing substrate located on one end of saidmain substrate, a movable substrate located on an opposite end of saidmain substrate and being movable along said main substrate in said firstlongitudinal direction, a plurality of die forming segments situatedbetween said movable substrate and said fixing substrate, and tie rodsextending along said main substrate outside a periphery of saidplurality of die forming segments, said tie rods connecting said movablesubstrate and said fixing substrate to one another, said methodcomprising a step of performing an install or an uninstall of theforming die to a press apparatus by installing or uninstalling the upperdie member and the lower die member as a unit, wherein a predeterminednumber of segments are respectively integrated by using a die-settingholder.